Film Review
By Carly Diaz
When most people say they want to travel, they picture themselves flying on planes with lots of luggage, friends or family, and a set itinerary. When they arrive at their destination, they head to the hotel and lounge at the pool. A Map for Saturday inspires you to travel in a less materialistic way, a way that will allow you to connect more with the world, yourself, and others. This documentary follows Brook Silva-Braga’s year long journey around the world with nothing but a backpack of necessities and camera equipment. This film will broaden your horizons and make you crave something more than a 3-night stay in a Hawaiian beach resort.
The film opens with Brook Silva-Braga quitting his job as a television producer for HBO and telling his boss and coworkers that he plans to take a year off to travel the world. His reasoning is that he wants some type of last hurrah before settling down, starting a family, and growing old. Unsure of exactly what this means for his future, he leaves his life behind and starts a new one as a traveler in Australia.
One of the main themes throughout the film is the sharing of experiences. Although he is traveling alone, he makes great friends who come and go. Their paths just happen to cross for short amounts of time as they pursue their own adventures. Brook meets his fair share of friends and lovers and explains that on a journey such as his, you may never see the people you meet again. The fleetingness of his friendships comes with a certain appreciation for them as well as the sense of being a wanderer.
As Brook stays in over 20 different countries, he adjusts to different environments that are often more dangerous and low maintenance than he is accustomed to in the United States. In Thailand’s Phi Phi Island, he and other backpackers help the locals clear debris still present from the recent and devastating tsunami. This is one of the many experiences Brook had that you would not find on a typical itinerary. With nothing but a backpack to his name, Brook loses touch with his materialistic side, prioritizing his experiences with the people and places around him. A Map for Saturday manages to convey his convictions without becoming a corny motivational film. The documentary is an honest portrayal of the lone traveler’s lifestyle. Brook does not censor out the negatives of travel, because it’s all part of the journey! The film’s takeaway is that really anyone can pack up their things and go! This despite the uncertainties involved in traveling into unfamiliar environments alone.
A Map for Saturday is an enlightening film that all will appreciate. It will empower those who already have a desire to explore the world and inspire those who have always believed such adventure to be out of reach. Brook Silva-Braga shows us the truth about what it is like to bounce between different hostels in different countries and to live out of a backpack for a year. He shows us that anyone can do it—and that we probably should!
A Map for Saturday. Director: Brook Silva-Braga. Earthchild Productions. 16 March 2007 (USA). Film.
Image: Horizon via Creative Commons